Need advice on buying Breville 920 and BCG820 grinder overseas

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
Park
Posts: 4
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by Park »

Hello, folks.

I'm Sangmin from Korea.

Here is my story and I'd like have your help before making my decision.

I'm just a beginner, never have had an espresso machine or grinder before, but love coffee, want to have one recently, started to search internet.

Long story in short; Starting from looking at "Gaggia pure + virtuso grinder" combo, now I almost decided to buy "Breville 920 + BCG820 smartgrinder". It looks simple for newbies like me, perhaps more than I can manage, but at least I think I can learn from it alot.

Now the problem is "how/where to buy" with cheapest price as possible.
As searched internet, the cheapest method to buy is get them from ebay or amazon seller from Austrailia.
There is official Breville seller company in Korea too, but the final price gap is more than 500 US dollars.
Korean Breville seller sells by way too much expensive price...

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Buy them from Korean official seller -
Pros:
- Guarantee after service free for (only)1 year after purchasing.(No after service at all for oversea buyers.)
- Machine localization. Working machine Volt/Hz is set to Korean environment, which is "220v/60hz".
Cons: Higher price.
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Buy them from Austrailian seller in Ebay/Amazon -
Pros: Cheap price (over 500 US dollars worth)
Cons: Main pump needs to be replaced to Korean environment. also need to adjust OPV setting by trial and errors. Machine factory default volt/Hz = "220 ~ 240v/50Hz". Korean: "220v/60Hz"
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Buy them from US seller in Ebay/Amazon -
Pros: Cheap price. No need to replace pump because the machine works as 120v/60Hz.
Cons: I need to buy transformer(120v -> 220v) and I hate the noise and its size... :cry:
------------------------

The happiest scenario is "buy them from austrailian sellers and I have enough pump pressure.".
But I'm willing to modify inside of machine myself if needed.

#1. 15 bar ULKA pump(about 50 US dollars in Korea)
As I checked, the main default pump spec is "EAP5 ULKA" works on "220 ~ 240v/50Hz".
But as Korean uses "220v/60Hz", so there is a big chance of machine malfunctioning or unexpected behavior because of different Herz.

I've seen some of the other Koreans additionally bought same functioning but different spec of pump and replace EAP5 with it. It is called "EAX5 ULKA" pump, and the only difference is working environment. which is " 220v/60Hz". I'm not sure about this part. Because according to the other Koreans who bought it from austrailian sellers, they say they don't have any problem. I'm not sure if they don't care, or they really don't have a problem...

Question #1. If blind test of pump pressure reaches over 9 bar, will it be ok NOT to replace the main pump? Or should I buy the local pump EAP5 and replace to make sure?

Question #2. It seems like Breville 920 has 2 pumps. One is main pump and the other is for steam, which is 3 bar. Should I check steam pump and try to replace it as well, if needed?

Question #3. The grinder definitely has same voltage and hz as espresso machine but I don't think I really need to do anything to the grinder. as long as it turns on and works. Should I consider/check anything more for the grinder?

Sorry for so many questions and thank you very much in advance. :o

SmackMonkey
Posts: 29
Joined: 10 years ago

#2: Post by SmackMonkey »

I just started making espresso in June and bought a Breville 920; it's excellent. I think the Breville Smart Grinder is not going to work to that well for espresso. I considered it, but read that grind size is too coarse (unless shims are installed) and there are not enough fine setting increments to work well for espresso. Get a better grinder. I have a Baratza/Mahlkoenig Vario which is more $, similar build quality, but has enough fine settings for espresso.

Good luck :D

Park (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 9 years ago

#3: Post by Park (original poster) »

Hey, SmackMonkey.

Thank you for reply and suggestion for smartgrinder.
Is that so? Too Coarse for espresso?
Hm... that is weird? Isn't the smart grinder supposed to be working better with its own brand machine?

I will go for Vario or others than smart grinder. Smart grinder looks shinny though. :o
Now, it seems like one of my concern(#3) is got away!

Thanks again!

SmackMonkey
Posts: 29
Joined: 10 years ago

#4: Post by SmackMonkey »

I almost bought a Smart Grinder because it has many great features and a good looking design. Keep in mind I've never used a Smart Grinder, however if you Google "Breville Smart Grinder Espresso" you will find a few opinions about it's suitability for espresso.

As an example: the Smart Grinder has about 30 increments from coarse to fine; Baratza Vario has about 230. That's not as good as a stepless grinder but I can make grind adjustments with a Vario to compensate for < 1.0g change in dose.

I would suggest that after the coffee beans and water, the next most important factor is the grinder. If the grind size is wrong, it may be difficult or even impossible to compensate for it with the espresso machine or other factors. Maybe you can change the dose or extraction time, but that will introduce other side effects.

As a beginner like yourself my other tips to save yourself time and frustration and $ are:

- Make your life as simple as possible. Eliminate as many variables as you can in your equipment, technique, ingredients etc.. When trying to learn by trial and error, only change 1 variable. BES920 is electronic so it's consistent. Take lots of notes so you know what works. Treat it like a chemistry experiment.
- Use a digital scale that is accurate to 0.1 g and weigh coffee dose and espresso output (make sure the scale can accept the full weight of the portafilter handle ~600g)
- In the beginning you will waste many kg of coffee and throw a lot of espresso down the drain. You may not want to start with really expensive coffee.
- Whole beans go stale once roasted and after 2 weeks the flow rate can be different from week 1. The cheaper factory coffee e.g. Lavazza, Illy, etc. have a problem: it is many many weeks old by the time you buy it, so once you open the bag it goes stale very very quickly in a couple of days. So each day you will have to make your grind finer and finer to compensate. Very frustrating trying to figure out a grind setting and another reason to have a grinder capable of very small incremental changes. You can try to divide a big bag up into smaller airtight bags and freeze the extra coffee. Defrost and use only what you need for 1 day.
- When you make a grind adjustment, it can take a bit of coffee run through the grinder before the new grind coffee comes out. If you're making a lot of grind adjustments, that can waste a lot of coffee. If you pick a grinder with low grind retention, you can just add a single dose of weighed beans at a time, and run the grinder to empty.

Hope this helps :lol:

clynch
Posts: 156
Joined: 13 years ago

#5: Post by clynch »

I have the breville 870 with the attached grinder (same type as stand alone grinder) and I find it to be just acceptable for espresso. Were I to buy their dual boiler that doesn't have an attached grinder I'd look elsewhere for the grinder. I also have their stand alone smart grinder and added the shims. I have since removed the shims and utilize it exclusively for french press and pour over with my chemex. It does a fine job.
Charlie

Park (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 9 years ago

#6: Post by Park (original poster) »

Smack Monkey, Thanks a tone with such good tips.

I really appreciate for all your advices. :D

Park (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 9 years ago

#7: Post by Park (original poster) »

Clynch.

Thank you for the info. I heard BCG820 does have similar quality of grinding result as mounted grinder in Breville 870. It seems like you are using either BCG 820 or 800 but not using it for espresso, huh?